Eric Flint > Quotes

“Strength grows from building other strength, not from trampling on weakness.”
― Eric Flint

“Conspiracies existed, to be sure; many of them, and many were dark indeed. But fiendish? Fiendishness required brains. Nine times out of ten, conspirators behaved like buffoons and wound up exposing themselves out of sheer, bumbling incompetence.”
― Eric Flint, 1636: The Saxon Uprising

“Good writing just isn't that common.”
― Eric Flint

“Only the soul matters, in the end. All else is dross. That is as true of an empire as it is of a man.”
― Eric Flint, Fortune's Stroke

“Jeff watched her come, the whole time. He never noticed her mincing, hesitant steps on treacherous heels. He was simply swept up in the ancient ceremony. And discovering, as untold millions of young men had discovered before him, that there is nothing in the world as beautiful as his bride approaching.”
― Eric Flint, 1632

“A reputation, once developed, is as valuable as a fine sword. But don't forget that it has to be a valid reputation. Or the sword's go no edge.”
― Eric Flint, 1812: The Rivers of War

“The plans and schemes of tyrants are broken by many things. They shatter against cliffs of heroic struggle. They rupture on reefs of open resistance. And they are slowly eroded, bit by little bit, on the very beaches where they measure triumph, by countless grains of sand. By the stubborn little decencies of humble little men.”
― Eric Flint, In the Heart of Darkness

“Bad parent! Bad Parent! Your children will grow up to be drug addicts, derelicts, serial murderers and hedge fund managers!”
― Eric Flint, 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught (21)

“We should think, as we gather riches, as we sit in positions of great honor, as we indulge in luxurious pleasures. All this only a dream, and moreover a short and frivolous dream. When we wake from it, there will be no riches in our hands. What, then is life? To be brief, the period for which human life lasts is only a point on a line, its very nature changeable, during which we see through a glass darkly. Our bodies are unreliable, our moods variable. Riches are a thorn, lust is a poison. Everything bodily is a running river that passes on. Life is a war; the stay of a guest in a foreign city; an existence full of suffering and effort. Great buildings and strong fortifications collapse; their strength does not help them. The hardest of stones erode. The greatest fame is forgotten after a man's death; the greatest worldly titles disappear like smoke. The most beautiful and praiseworthy thing a man can do before he dies is to devote his life to the untiring performance of virtuous acts, constantly seeking to practice prudence, justice, moderation, endurance; faith, hope, and unselfish love.”
― Eric Flint, 1634: The Bavarian Crisis

“a simple wagon-driver stops his cart at the side of the road to speak the Hebrew alphabet, one letter at a time. 'God,' he cries out, 'I don't know the prayers, so I am sending you the alphabet. You must know the prayers. Make them up out of the letters I am sending.”
― Eric Flint, Worlds

“What was it about women, Eduart wondered, that made them want to arrange everyone else’s life?”
― Eric Flint, 1637: The Coast of Chaos

“one day a disciple came to complain to his teacher. 'Rabbi, some of the congregants are gossiping in the midst of prayer!' " Spira smiled crookedly. "Not such a different world after all, then. And the rabbi's response?" " 'O God,' said the rabbi. 'How wonderful are your people! Even in the midst of gossip, they devote a few moments to prayer!”
― Eric Flint, Worlds

“maybe that’s all history was: a succession of bullies and thieves, each”
― Eric Flint, 1636: Commander Cantrell in the West Indies

“A good marriage produced affection and physical desire as naturally and inevitably as trees grew. Love was simply the fruit, which they confused with the seed.”
― Eric Flint, Worlds 2

“How many genetic engineers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Eleven—one to do the work, and the other ten to figure out why it doesn’t have a double helix.” “What’s the definition of a virgin genetic engineer? A nerd with too many pocket protectors.”
― Eric Flint, Worlds 2

“So where you've got one pope, they've got a whole bunch of 'em?”
― Eric Flint, 1634: The Galileo Affair

“deceleration through lithobraking”
― Eric Flint, Threshold

“population thinking,' Kennesaw. A pity you never learned to apply those methods. Instead, you made the classic mistake of categorizing people into abstract types instead of recognizing their concrete variations”
― Eric Flint, Worlds

“Screw it. Bring on that sorry dragon!

Comes down to it, I'll bet Hrundig knows a recipe for cooking the mangy beasts.”
― eric flint, The Philosophical Strangler

“Well, they better get used to it. It's payback for what they did to England back in the 1890s.”
― Eric Flint, Boundary

“an illustration of the fallacy of Platonic thinking applied to evolutionary principles.”
― Eric Flint, Worlds

“Okay, Jack—let 'er rip!" They were able to watch the operation on a screen, from sensors left on site. The fuel-cell-powered ripper hummed, and there was a sudden screeching noise audible all the way down the corridor as the lever arms inserted themselves forcibly into the narrow crack between the door valves. The humming abruptly dropped in pitch and became louder as it began to force the doors open. A.J.”
― Eric Flint, Boundary

“Nancy Ward was almost eighty years old. For a moment, Tiana was frozen by the sight. Half exultant—if she could be like that, at that age!—and half petrified. It was like watching some ancient, terrible creature, rising from its lair.”
― Eric Flint, 1812: The Rivers of War

“He shrugged. "Let's see if I can verify your guess, Dr. Glendale." "Nicholas or Nick, please. Not—" He flashed a warning glance at Helen, but too late. "—Nicky!" she interjected. "Okay,”
― Eric Flint, Boundary

“up was the necessary supply chain in case he had to leave Bohemia”
― Eric Flint, 1636: The Saxon Uprising

“A.J.'s conciliatory tone was then replaced by his usual theatrics. "Glad you could make it, Colonel! We're about to try to open up and see what's behind Door Number Three." "Actually, Door Number D-11," Jackie corrected. "Well, darn. Janice was always behind Door Number Three. D11 just has alien artifacts behind it." "A.J., you're not old enough to remember that show," Hathaway snorted. "Hell, I'm not old enough to remember that show." "Old shows never die. They live on in sound bites and cultural references for generations." Movement”
― Eric Flint, Boundary

“is a bureaucrat, first and foremost. His central concern—now and always—is going to be his position within the power structure, not the needs of the struggle. When a job goes sour, his first thought is going to be: cover my ass. And for that, ain't nothing better than a dumb young greenhorn”
― Eric Flint, Worlds

“Of all human vices, none is so insidious and destructive as the blind worship of ability. That way lies abomination.”
― Eric Flint, In the Heart of Darkness

“He knew exactly what thoughts—emotions, rather—would be filling Pakenham's breast. The same that would have been filling his own, had Ross still been in command. Doubts, hesitations, fears, second thoughts, quibbles, uncertainties—all those, Pakenham would be burning on the altar this very moment.”
― Eric Flint, 1812-The Rivers of War

“Author's Afterword”
― Eric Flint, 1632